Bought tour for 9:30 am meeting time but, a day before our tour, I received a (WhatsApp) message from the tour company requesting that we meet at 8:20 am instead due a national strike that will happen that day.
We arrived at the Central train station ahead of time, at 8 am, and met our tour guide Chiara a few minutes later. Chiara was very friendly, personable, and easy to talk to. The other 4 people in our small group of 8 arrived on time and joined us in our exciting tour.
Took an hour long comfortable train ride to Lake Como. Along the way, Chiara gave us lots of valuable information, history, and background on Lake Como, her hometown. It was also interesting to hear about her personal experiences growing up in Lake Como!
Took a boat ride in Lake Como and admired the breathtaking views of the lake while passing by admirable villas in Italy. Regrettably, the boat didn’t go far enough to reach Gorge Clooney’s villa! Would have been a more exciting boat ride! Boat dropped us off at Torno where we leisurely strolled through the pedestrian village with its charming architecture. Boat picked us again after less than an hour and we then headed back to Como where we enjoyed a great Italian lunch! Chiara messaged us a list of interesting and great places to eat. Resto we chose required more walking than we wanted but was well worth it! Fresh handmade pasta, nicely prepared and presented, and very reasonably priced!
Took a train to beautiful Lugano where we had to tackle more than a hundred steps down to get to the picturesque lake! Quite a challenge for us seniors but thankfully made it! Lake Lugano was another breathtaking view! Grateful that we took the funicular going back up! At the world famous Laderach Swiss chocolate store, Chiara handed us different samplings of great tasting freshly made chocolates! Quite expensive but too irresistible not to buy some!
This trip is definitely not to be missed! So much to see, experience, and to love! And we truly enjoyed the entire time that Chiara was with us. She was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her job and with the place so close to her heart! We were very lucky to have Chiara as our tour guide!